Liam Roels
Drupal developer
Our E-commerce experts Stef and Liam tackle your questions about online sales in this blog.
Why should you consider a webshop? What should you pay attention to and which steps should you follow?
Starting a webshop
From consideration to execution
Why do I need a webshop?
If you still doubt it, the answer is simple: people are buying more and more online every year. More than 20% of B2C sales in Europe come from e-commerce activities.
If you want your organization to be part of the digital revolution, it is crucial to have an online presence in addition to your offline store. This is how you maximize your turnover. This is why a webshop is simply a necessity for retailers today.
A webshop lends itself to all kinds of products and goods. Our web shop expert Liam says that if you sell customized goods, a web shop is also interesting to let your visitor request a quotation online. A transaction does not have to be the ultimate goal of a web shop, a request for quotation is. In this way you keep the sales threshold low and you create interaction with your target group, which benefits conversion.
Liam summarizes it as follows:
A web shop is a way to open up your products to a large audience. In this way you have a much larger range
What is essential about a good webshop?
The main focus of a webshop is that it is clear and user friendly. Or rather: the user experience must be on point! After all, user experience is everything, because the competition is fierce. And remember: online shopping is all about creating a feeling of trust, a smooth experience and an attractive offer.
'Visit a website that doesn't work smoothly or quickly, you'll probably quickly click "back" and look for the answer on another site. That's not much different than in a physical store, where you also prefer to shop in an orderly store,' says Liam, webshop expert.
The platform on which the webshop is built depends on your own situation. Simple needs are solved with an efficient, out-of-the-box solution, while a customized e-commerce experience requires a more extensive project.
Based on the collected data we mapped out the customer journeys and user experience. The choice of platform is best based on the needs of your online visitors, your own business processes and the shop experience you want to provide. As you have already understood, you have to make choices here, each with their own investment impact.
How much time do you need to set up a web shop?
Of course, this depends on how many features and how advanced your website will be. To explain that, we'll go more the practical route below and briefly explain all the steps.
Step 1:
It is important anyway that your situation is mapped out. This way we can determine what the webshop should look like, how it should work, what data integrations are needed and so on.
As a result, we know how your business works, and can draw up an e-commerce implementation plan.
Step 2:
It is important to start on the technical analysis in time. In this phase we examine how we will build all the necessary functionalities. Is checkout work necessary, which APIs are involved and do we need to integrate with other systems? We deliberately do this very early in the process. If something turns out to be impossible, we can make timely adjustments by getting back to the table with the right stakeholders, among others. In this way, we avoid duplication.
Step 3:
Your project is carried out on a tailor-made basis, taking into account advancing insight. Our team offers you a transparent view into the progress of the project.
Step 4:
Now we can get to work with you. We train you and your team on how to use the e-shop. Then you will also know how to add products to the webshop, divide them up, suggest them and so much more. Both backend management processes as online page layouts and online marketing are covered. This way you will become a real power user of your own e-commerce system.
Did you know?
"Never lose sight of your user. He leaves faster than you think." - Liam and Stef, our webshop experts.
How would you like to view and use a web shop? You have to start from the user's point of view and not only focus on your products. Don't do company thinking, but put the user experience at number 1! This way your products will sell better, according to a customer journey that suits your target group or segment.
So spend enough time on the strategic part. Challenge yourself and your company. Ask as many questions as possible during the first conversations. Even if they are long-term objectives, take them into consideration and be ambitious!